Storms of the Past
by Lady Ava
Summary: FINALLY COMPLETE! Sai and the guys are spending the week at Mia's beach house. But when a harsh storm hits, Sai's past comes back to haunt him.
1. Ocean Bound

Storms of the Past

By: Lady Ava

Disclaimer: I don't own the Ronin Warriors, but any minor new character I do own the rights to. 

Chapter One

Ocean Bound

            "The ocean weather is suppost to be perfect this week. You boys picked a excellent time to go to shore." Kayura called from the family room. Mia had invited the former warlord to stay with her for the week that the five Ronin were going to the beach. Because their beloved friend and tenant wanted them to get out of the mountains for a week, she had suggested her family's beach house down the shore. That would give them a great time at the beach and would give her some peace and quite. 

            Kento lugged the last piece of baggage down the stairs. It was a large trunk that was covered with stickers of bands and hilarious sayings. Glancing up the stairs, the hard rock warrior huffed. "Rowen! What the hell did you pack in here?"

            Appearing at the top of the stairwell, the blue haired youth grinned innocently. "Books. Why?" 

            "It feels like you put your whole bookshelf in here." Kento replied, cracking his back from carrying such a load. 

            Walking through the living room quickly, Sage was running over a mental list of things that still needed to be taken. "Let's see…car keys. Wait, Ryo's driving, those are his problem. Um, what else?" 

            Grinning as he came to the base step, Rowen rolled his eyes. "Sage, calm down. This is suppost to be a non-stressful trip."

            "Besides," Kayura chimed in as she stood from the couch, "I thought you were suppost to be the calm one of the group." 

            Sage felt his face grow red under his blond hair. "Yea…well…I get very high strung before the whole trip starts. If you went on vacation with my family, you would understand." Picking up one end of the large trunk sitting at Kento's feet, the Halo warrior began to roll it away. "I mean, every time we would have to leave early for the airport, I would always hear one of my sisters shout, 'Sage, where's my hairbrush?' or 'Sage, could you carry this?' Brother, what I wouldn't have given for a brother." He continued to mumble as he walked outside. 

            Kayura, Rowen, and Kento sweatdropped as they watched their friend leave. Clearing his throat to end the uneasy silence, Kento asked. "Hey, where are Ryo and Sai at? We're leaving in a few minutes."

            "Ryo is outside trying to give White Blaze a bath. The last time I checked on them, Ryo was the one in the water and White Blaze was completely dry." Kayura told as she took the ribbon out of her hair, letting the locks fall to the back of her knees. 

            "And my buddy Sai?" 

            Rowen glanced up at one of the opened doors that was Sai's room. "He's still packing."

*****************

Sai sat up in his room as he finished packing his suitcase. He could hear the sound of laughter from below as the others started loading the jeep for the long five-hour drive that they had before them. But Sai didn't care about the drive. As long as he could surf and swim in the ocean again, he would drive five hundred hours. 

"Let's see," The Australian boy said aloud as he stared down at his overflowing suitcase. "Wetsuit, kanji orb, clothes, books, toothbrush and paste." He named as he scanned through the bag. "What am I forgetting?" 

Looking around his room, it struck him. Standing from his bed, Sai ran over to the dresser. Opening one of the many draws, he withdrew a small wooden box that had carvings of dolphins jumping through water on it. Setting it down on the table, Sai opened it carefully. There were a lot of little trinkets and such scattered about inside. But there was only one that the youth wanted. That was a shark tooth necklace. The tooth was curved a bit and the sharpness of the rims of it had been dulled. It was on a simple, yet sturdy, piece of black string. 

Withdrawing it from its wooden box, Sai smiled. "I can't forget this." He murmured under his breath as he tied it around his neck. 

"Hey Sai." Mia's voice stated suddenly, causing the boy to jump. Looking over at the doorway, the familiar smile of Mia Koji glittered at him. "Are you almost ready to go? Kento and Sage are almost done loading the car."

Placing the box back into the dresser, the Torrent fighter smiled back. "Yea. I just need to bring my bag down. By the way," He began, grabbing the girl's interest. "Did the guys put my board in the car the way I asked?" 

Stepping into the bedroom, Mia nodded. "Yes Sai. Just the way you said to so that the fin won't break. They listened. For a change." 

"Cool. Then, I'll bring this downstairs and we'll be on our way." Smiling, Sai zippered his suitcase shut and locked it tight. 

All of a sudden, the sound of wet sneakers became clear from out in the hallway. Appearing the doorway, Mia and Sai couldn't help but laugh. Ryo stood before them, his hair and clothes hanging heavily because of the water that had been absorbed into them. "Take your time Sai. I need to go change." 

Wiping the tears of laughter from his eyes, Sai asked, "Did you give White Blaze a bath or did he give you one?"

Rolling his eyes, Ryo turned and stalked out toward his room. "Very funny." He mumbled as his shoes squeaked away.      

****************88

After Ryo dried off and changed his clothes, the five Ronin Warriors sat in the jeep saying their good-byes to Mia and Kayura. "Now remember," Mia said as she leaned through the window of the car. "Have a good time and just don't wreak the place." 

Leaning over Rowen's seat, Kento flashed the victory sign. "Hey, don't worry. We'll make sure to leave the place a total mess." He laughed. 

Pushing the ash haired teen off his head, Rowen leaned out the window. "The same goes for you guys. Don't do anything dumb while we're gone." 

Kayura walked up to Rowen and flipped a piece of his hair out of his face. "Don't worry about us. We'll be just fine." Then, bending down, Rowen and Kayura locked lips in a passionate kiss. 

The Ronins rolled their eyes as the Strata warrior and the ex-warlord kissed. Reaching over, Sage and Ryo pulled Rowen back into the car. "That's enough Romeo. Let's get a move on." Ryo laughed as he put the keys into the keyhole. 

Facing the rest of his friends, Rowen wiped away some of Kayura's light pink lip-gloss. "Very funny." He said in a joking annoyed tone. 

As the engine roared loudly from their new jeep, the five teens all waved to the two women. "We'll see you guys in a week. See ya!" Sai said from the back seat. 

"Call us when you get there." Mia told them, sounding like their worried mother. 

"Sure. Bye!" Rowen called as the car began out of the long driveway. 

Chasing after the car a bit, Kayura waved as they drove away. "Bye Rowen! Bye guys! See ya in one week!" She called as they zoomed off towards the main road. 

*********************

The drive down to the ocean was not exactly boring. For the first thirty minutes, the guys found great joy in taunting Rowen about him and Kayura. The two of them had been dating for six months, which the guys didn't really seem to get but just shrugged it off. Besides, it added on something fun that they could get Rowen on if ever needed. 

"Oh Rowen, you're so cute." Kento laughed, trying to mock Kayura's voice.

"Really Ro, I have never seen any two people lock lips like that. Even Sage hasn't done something like that." Ryo told as he slipped a cd into the stereo.

The blue haired youth sunk down into his seat and buried his eyes in a thick book about psychology. "Would you all shut your traps already? My god, it was nothing." He mumbled, feeling his face begin to turn a charming shade of red. 

Leaning forward, Sage placed a hand onto his friend's shoulder. "Rowen, I hate to say this. But right now, it's open season on you. So, dude, when were you two going to come up for air?" He asked.

Slamming his book shut, Rowen faced the rest of the group. "Why can't you guys just leave me alone? You never gave Sage this much trouble when he was dating that cheerleader." 

"Actually we did." Sai said, sliding up into his seat to join the conversation. "You were too busy making out with Kayura to notice though." He added, high fiving Kento at a well taken shot.

Curling his upper lip, Rowen sunk back down into the seat up front and opened his book again. "Whatever…" He mumbled.    

The rest of the car trip was the normal behavior the each of the Ronin. Sage and Ryo were looking over the map, trying to find the correct exits. Kento sat playing Super Mario on his Game Boy Advanced. Rowen had given up on his Psychology book and had reverted to the third Harry Potter. 

Sai sat staring out the window. He watched as the other cars passed the quickly, while others would stay at the same speed as them for a moment and then either speed up and pass them or revert back to a slower speed. He always thought the car rides before reaching the ocean was always the best. He remembered when he was little and would sit in the back seat of his family's car with his older sister. Every five minutes he would ask if they were there yet and he would hear his father laugh and say, 'a few more minutes Sai.' As he continued at stare out at the cars, Sai felt his eyelids become very heavy and before he could resist, he fell asleep. 

**************

Sai was running down the boardwalk of an Australian beach. Because it was tourist season, the shopping district was very crowed with people buying goods and such to take back after their vacation was over. The sun that shown overhead was hot, but it didn't bother the youth. Being a native to the land down under, Sai had become accustom to hot weather. 

_Turning around on his heels, the small boy faced his mother, sister, and father who smiled at him widely. "Hey come on. The surf shop is this way!" He called happily. _

_The Mouri Family followed their youngest child into a small surfing store that was one of many on the ocean seaboard. It was a bit cramped inside, due to the overwhelming amount of boards and other surfing gear that was set up. It was well air conditioned and had only a few other people inside, looking around at the different styles of long boards. Every style of board was like a massive sea of color. They had everything from the custom yellow boards to hot pink, which was easy to find in the water if you wiped out. _

_Walking up the counter, Mr. Mouri rang a small bell. Suddenly, a man dressed in a Hawaiian shirt and shorts with sunglasses came out of the back room. "Yea? Can I help you?" He asked in a very thick accent. As he strolled up behind the cash register, his eyes suddenly widened from behind his blue sunglasses. "It can't be. Is that you, Chris? Chris Mouri?" He asked. _

_Laughing a bit, Sai's dad nodded. "Hey Len. Long time no see." _

_"So what brings you to my humble shop? You need a new fin? Last time I heard, yours split on some coral during the big competition Hawaii weeks back." Len asked as he leaned back against the wall. _

_Shaking his head, Mr. Mouri looked over his shoulder at his five year old son who was examining some of the boards closely. "Actually, I need a board for Sai. He's going to learn to surf today." _

_"Really? So, the champ is trying to raise another one, huh? The youngest Mouri is going to learn the fine art of riding the waves from his old man." The old surfer stated, sounding very beach bum like. _

_Glancing over at his son, Mr. Mouri laughed. "Yea. I figured I should start him out now. Hey Sai, come here for a second." _

_Perking his head up from the boards, Sai smiled widely as he ran over to his father. Letting his parent scoop him up, Sai was placed onto the edge of the counter. "Sai, you remember your Uncle Len, right?" _

_Facing the scruffy man, Sai smiled. "Hi Uncle Len. I'm going to surf today." He said proudly. _

_"So I've heard." Len laughed as he saw Sai try to act all tough. "I have just the board for you." Running into the back room, the man returned quickly with a dark blue and white board. On the nose of the board, there was a picture of a dolphin painted on. "This is just like your old man's board. If you're anything like him, you'll be able to surf with this." _

_Looking at the surfboard in aw, Sai smiled at his father, mother and sister happily. "Thanks mom. Thanks Lily. And a big thanks to you daddy." He shouted as he clung around his father's neck._

_"You're welcome Sai." He father laughed as he hugged him back. _

_*****************_

_Sai sat in the water, clutching onto his new board tightly. He had wiped out for the tenth time that day was beginning to feel like just giving up. "Come on Sai. You can't quit so soon." Lily called as she paddled out onto the waves so that she was sitting next to her brother and father. "You barely just got started and you are already giving up?"_

_"I just can't do it. You and daddy are just to good for me." The little boy moaned as he clutched onto his board. _

_Holding his son's board still, Mr. Mouri smiled as he watched his boy clamored back onto his wooden ride. "Hum, I know what you need Sai. I have just the thing that will make you surf your best." He said. Reaching up around his neck, the man removed his shark tooth necklace and placed it around his son's neck. "It's my lucky necklace. I think you should have it. I think you need it more than I do." _

_Examing the new piece of jewelry around his neck, he smiled up at his dad. "Thanks."_

**********************

"Sai, Hey Sai. We're here." He heard Sage murmur into his ear. Opening his eyes, Sai saw that he had moved from his place against the windows. His head was resting on Sage's shoulder comfortably as the car suddenly came to a halt. 

Pushing off of his friend, Sai instantly apologized. "I'm really sorry Sage. I didn't mean to—"

"Hey, it's okay. You were tired and so I let you sleep." The blond haired Ronin told, cutting him off. "Besides, you only rested on my shoulder a few minutes ago."

Stepping out of the car, the five Ronins were met with a spectacular view. The house was on top of a sea cut cliff and a bit ways back from the edge. But it wasn't exactly like a surf shack. It was more like a modern version of Mia's house back home. 

Upon entering the house, the teens dropped their luggage in shock. There was a spiral staircase that lead up to the bedrooms upstairs. Everything was done with the though of modern Beverly Hills in mind. Everything was spacious white, from the floors to the rugs, to the furniture. "Damn…" Were the first words out of Kento's mouth as he stared at large crystal chandler that hung above their heads. 

"This place is great. It's so…so…" Sage began as he walked over to examine the family room's massive fireplace. 

"Modern." Ryo finished as he walked past the family room and into the kitchen.

Sai took hold of his luggage and started up the large staircase that spiraled out over the family room. Upon reaching the landing, the Australian began his search for a room. As he peered through all the doors, he saw that there was a work out room, a small theater like the ones the movie stars had, and a large spa like bathroom. Turning a corner, Sai found the hallway that was where the bedrooms were. Walking past the other rooms, Sai went straight for the two double doors at the end of the corridor. 

Opening the doors slowly, Sai found the master bedroom. There was a large king size bed and a massive dresser that had a huge mirror that stretched across the entire wall. Off to the side, there were two walk-in closets with full-length mirrors on all the doors. Then, if you went past the doors to the closets and turned a small corner, there was a large bathroom that was larger than the one in the hallway. 

Throwing his bags onto the bed, Sai collapsed backwards on the soft sheets. "I claim this room." He said aloud to himself. Sitting up, the torrent warrior walked over to the two large glass doors that lead outside onto a small balcony that over looked the ocean. 

Slipping outside, the teen was greeted by a soft ocean breeze blowing on his face. The sound of the waves crashing onto the rocks below was very calming to him. Over the horizon, the sun was beginning to set. The giant ball of flames looked as if it was sinking into the body of water. Reds, oranges, yellows mixed with the clear ocean water, creating the effect of the sky and sea becoming one. Seagulls sang above as they soared out over the ocean wind currents. They flapped their powerful wings strongly as if trying to fight to see who could stay floating the longest. 

Breathing in the salt air, Sai sighed. 'I love this. It reminds me of back in Australia. This is just like before that day when…' The boy quickly stopped his own thoughts. Lowering his gaze to the soaked rocks, he felt his shark tooth touch his chest. "Father." He mumbled. 

"Hey Sai." Ryo's voice said softly from behind the teen. Turning around quickly, Sai saw his friend and trusted leader standing in the balcony doorway. "I put your surfboard in the garage. You're still going to teach us how to surf tomorrow, right?" 

Smiling, Sai nodded. "Yea, of course." 

Stepping out onto the balcony, Ryo stared at Sai carefully. His tiger blue eyes seemed to pierce right through all of the negative thoughts that the Torrent fighter was feeling in his heart. Ryo's eyes were always understanding and calming to stare at. "Are you alright?" That was another one of Ryo's best traits. He could see if you weren't yourself and were acting differently. 

"Yea, I'm fine." Sai answered calmly, trying not to let anything slip out. Ryo raised a questioning eyebrow. "Honestly Ryo. I'm fine." 

Shaking the feeling away, the Wildfire warrior nodded. "Alright. Just making sure. Hey, we're going out to eat. Care to join us?" 

"Of course. As long as one of you are paying." Sai told as he leaned back against the railing of the stone landing. 

Laughing, Ryo smiled an evil grin. "Mia has a tab at a steak place around here. She told me so herself. So, she said that she would pay for it when the tab is sent back home." 

"Great! Let's go." Sai said enthusiastically. As he and Ryo started back inside, Sai turned back to look at the setting sun once more. The orb had almost vanished from sight over the horizon and the sky began to turn a darker blue as night began to settle in. A light breeze kissed Sai cheek, causing him to grin as he followed Ryo inside.

*** Whatcha think so far? Please read and review! ***


	2. Reunion

**_Storms of the Past_**

**__**

**_Chapter Two_**

_Reunion _

_By: Lady Ava_

_Disclaimer: I don't own Ronin Warriors_

The steak house that the Ronin had decided to go to was the Outback Steak House. They thought it would be fun only because it was a pretty new place and thought Sai might get a kick out of it. Ryo, Kento, Sai, Rowen, and Sage were sat in a large round booth in the corner of the busy restaurant. They were in the perfect sight of the television that had ESPN on. To their luck, the program on happened to be the Honolulu Surfing Composition. 

"This is great." Kento said happily through a full mouth of steak. Swallowing hard, he grinned. "Good food, cute waitresses, and the best view of the surfing championships in the entire place." 

Glancing over at Sai, who sat on the outer part of the booth, Rowen asked. "Well Sai, your our expert here on down under food. So, how do you rate it?" 

Taking a sip of his soda, Sai cleared his throat. "On a scale of one to ten, I give it a 9.5." He laughed as he cut himself some more steak from his plate. 

"Why the .5?" Ryo questioned. 

"There aren't enough people working here that are actually Australian." He told the rest of his friends flatly, causing the table to break out into a fit of laughter. 

Suddenly, a hand rested on Sai's shoulder. "Excuse me?" A husky Australian accent asked. Quieting their laughter to a dull roar, the group of teens looked up to see a tall man standing next to their table. He had a dark tan from being outside a lot and very brown hair. He was dressed in a blue surfer shirt with khaki shorts and sandals. His blue sunglasses hung from his shirt collar as he stared at Sai with his blue eyes. 

"I'm sorry if my friends and I were too loud sir." Sai quickly stated. 

Suddenly, the man burst of laughing, causing the teens to raise their eyebrows. "I knew I recognized you. You look just like your father did when he was your age." 

His eyes widening, Sai jumped out of his seat with a big grin across his face. "Len! Oh my god! It's you!" He shouted happily as the man got him in a death grip of a hug. 

"Ah Sai, you seriously do look like your old man." Len laughed. Pulling the youth away from him, he looked Sai up and down. "Identical. Unbelievable what the years will do."

The four remaining Ronins stared at each other, looks and shrugs being exchanged between them. Turning from his uncle, Sai was still in shock. "Guys, this is my Uncle Len from Australia." He said, sounded exasperated. 

Sliding over, the five teens made room for Len at their table. "It's nice to meet ya." The older man said as he sat down next to his best friend's son. "Aren't you going to introduce me?" He murmured to the excited youth. 

"Of course. That's Ryo Sanada, Rowen Hashiba, Sage Date, and Kento Rei Fuan. They're me best mates." He said proudly as his friends shook hands with Len. 

Kento leaned over to Rowen and quietly whispered, "Since when has Sai called us 'mates'?" The question only caused Rowen to shrug. 

Turning to the youth, Len smiled widely. "So how on Earth have you been? I haven't seen you since the day you moved." 

"Life's been treating me alright, I guess."

"You here on vacation?"

"Just for the week."

"Have you seen the waves at the beaches? They're perfect of surfing. I was out there today. Never have ridden such smooth rides before." Len said, causing Sai to smile.

"I can't wait to get out there. I haven't been surfing in such a long time. What with school and all." He said modestly. 

Grinning, Len suddenly stood from the table. "Well, better be getting back to my table. I left my wife and daughter there." 

"You got married?" Sai asked, shock in his voice. 

Nodding proudly, Len smiled. "Yup. Have been for three years now. And I have a beautiful two year old daughter." 

Extending his hand out, Sai shook Len's firmly. "Congrats buddy." 

"Thanks. Well, better get going. Nice seeing ya Sai." Len said as he released the boy's hand. As he turned away, he said softly into Sai's ear. "When you're out tomorrow, watch out for the undertow. Don't want anything to happen to you too." 

His expression becoming stern, Sai told the man. "Don't worry about me. I'll be careful." And with that, Len made his way through the crowd and was gone from the Ronin's sight.

As the group spread out into the booth a bit again, Rowen turned to Sai. "Hey, what did he mean by, 'Don't want anything to happen to you too'?" 

Sai gulped hard at the question. Then, putting on a fake smile, he simply stated, "Nothing. Just a little thing that we used to do back home."

As the rest of their meal continued, Ryo kept glancing over at Sai. He could tell that Sai was hiding something, but what was that something was, he didn't want to bring up. 

*****************

Later that night, Sai laid in his bed in an uneasy sleep. The balcony doors had been left opened so that he could hear the ocean crashing on the rocks below. Usually, the sound of the sea would calm Sai down and make him sleep better. But at that moment, it seemed to fuel the teen's nightmares. 

******************

It was a cloudy day that showed signs of an oncoming storm. Thunder rolled across the sky, but there was no lighting in sight. The beach was very crowed, for it was the national surf composition that day. Surfers from all over Australia had come to the beach that Sai and his family lived near in order to compete. 

Sai's father was going to be competing as well, so the entire Mouri family was set up on the beach, prepared to cheer on the man as he tried to gain his twentieth title. Mr. Mouri stood with his family as he waited to be called out. "Now remember, I want to hear you cheering your loudest." He said with a smile. 

"No problem dad." Lily told as her new boyfriend wrapped his arms around her waist. 

"You can count on me too, Mr. Mouri sir." The youth said as Lily hugged him back a bit. 

Looking down at his ten-year-old son, the man grinned as well. "And can I count on you too Sai?"

Smiling a huge grin, Sai nodded happily. "You bet dad."  

Suddenly, the name 'Mouri' was called over the loud speaker. Grinning one last time at his family, Mr. Mouri ran off and entered the water. 

The waves that day were the biggest ones that Sai had ever seen. They towered over the usual size ones that he was adjusted to surfing on an everyday basis. Watching the giant walls of water, Sai scanned the area for his father. Suddenly, he saw him on top of one of the biggest waves that he had seen that day. His dad rode the water with ease, turning on a dime and doing the amount of tricks required in order to score high. But that's when the unexpected happened. The wave began to fall over and closed in upon itself. Sai felt himself hold his breath as he waited for his father to reappear from the water. He saw the tip of his father's board starting to emerge from the water. But he couldn't move fast enough. The wave crashed down upon him, throwing him into the water. Sai screamed out for his father as he watched him vanish beneath the rough seas. 

*****************

  Sai let out a blood-curdling scream as he flung forward in his bed, covered in icy sweat. His entire body quivered under the white sheets as he sat there, panting heavily. Looking around, he saw that he was in the safety of his room. Breathing out a huge breath of air, Sai placed his head into his hands. "It was a dream?" He asked himself. 

Suddenly, Kento burst into his friend's room, concern written clearly across his face. "Sai! What wrong?" He questioned as he ran over to Sai's side. 

"We heard screaming. Is everything alright?" Rowen asked sleepily from the doorway as Sage and Ryo quickly joined him. 

Removing his clammy hands from his brow, Sai swallowed hard. "It was so real." He murmured. 

"What was so real Sai?" Ryo asked as he too sat down on the edge of the Torrent warrior's bed. 

"My dream. Actually, is was more of a nightmare." He managed to tremble out. 

Looking over at the digital clock that read the time, '6am.', Sage yawned a bit. "Listen, it is already morning. Why don't we get dressed and get some breakfast. Then, we can head down to the beach for some early morning surfing. That should get your mind off your nightmare." He suggested, causing Sai to stiffen a bit. 

Averting his gaze to the opened balcony doors, the Australian boy saw that they were in for good weather that day. The sun was beginning to shine through into his room from the other side of the house. Smiling, Sai nodded in agreement to the plan. "Alright. Let's get a move on then."    

********************

~ Whatcha think? Please read and review! ~


	3. The Storm Begins

**_Storms of the Past_**

**__**

**_Chapter Three_**

_The Storm Begins_

_By: Lady Ava_

_Disclaimer: I don't own Ronin Warriors_

The Five Ronin decided to drive down to the beach side town to get some breakfast at a local IHop. Then, after watching Kento pack away three short stacks of pancakes, the boys then went to a surf shop to rent boards for Kento, Sage, Rowen, and Ryo. Sai suggested starting them out on the long board first, mostly because the short boards were for more experienced riders. 

***************

Waves broke loudly on the beach when the teens arrived. Setting up a quick lesson for them on the beach, Ryo, Sage, Kento, and Rowen learned the basics in a crash course in surfing. Finally, they were ready to head out into the water. 

Sai felt the coolness of the water splash up against him as he entered with his board by his side. The last he had been in the ocean was when he was fighting Sekmete after he was brought back after being reanimated. Sliding his board out in front of him, he reentered his domain. The water was his place. No matter how much people tried to pull him away from it, he couldn't help but be drawn to it. 

Paddling out to where the waves were the best to ride, Sai sat up and turned his board around. While he sat there, straddling his surfboard, he watched the others start out slowly. "Come on guys! Do it just like I showed ya." He called cheerfully.

"That's easy for you to say torrent!" Rowen called back as he and the others panted. Upon reaching where Sai was, the others turned their boards as well. 

"So, now what?" Ryo asked. 

Smiling back towards the shore, Sai let the breeze brush his hair around his face. "We wait." 

Kento raised and eyebrow. "We wait? That's it? We just sit here?" 

"Until I say go, you wait." Sai said firmly. Glancing behind him, he saw the swells of water starting to form in the way that was perfect to ride for beginners. "Ready guys? Cause here comes your wave." As the water began to move in, Sai shouted. "Go!" 

The four other Ronin did as Sai instructed on land without too much difficulty. They all managed to get up and keep their balances all right. But one by one they all soon wiped out. Rowen was the first to go down hitting the water feet first. Then, Ryo went in the same way. Sage fell off on his side while Kento landed in the water on his back. They all broke the surface of the water, laughing their heads off. 

"Hey Sai, aren't you coming?" Ryo called out to the Australian youth who was still sitting there. 

Looking behind him, Sai quickly got onto his stomach. Then, as he started to approach the standing point of the ride, the massive wave came into perfect view. Sai quickly jumped up onto his board and began to ride. The salt water splashed his face as he started to do some simple tricks like walking the board and turns. 'Len was right. These are smooth waves to ride.' He thought as a smile spread across his face. Suddenly, he couldn't hold onto the ride any longer and fell face first into the water. 

Sai broke the surface and shook his head as he reached over to grab his board. He panted for breath as he sat there, floating in the water. Climbing up onto his surfboard, Sai started into shore where the others were waiting for him. 

As he came up onto the shore, Kento slapped him on his back. "Sai, where the hell did you learn to surf that well? I mean, I know you said your were good. But I didn't know that your were that good."

"Back in Australia. I started when I was five." Sai told him simply as he grabbed a towel and started wiping the water from his face. 

"Man, I wish Kayura and Mia could of seen that. We were actually surfing." Rowen said with a laugh. 

Sage smiled evilly as he came up behind his friend. "Of course you wish Kayura was here." He joked. 

Rowen quickly jumped to his feet. "Alright! That's it! Enough is enough!" He shouted angrily as he began to crack his knuckles. "I'm going to give you until the count of three to start running. If you don't move fast enough, you will be thrown into the water. One…two…three!" Rowen took off like a bullet after Sage, who was laughing his head off as his best friend chased after him. 

Kento, Ryo, and Sai laughed full-heartedly as they watched Rowen try to catch Sage. Suddenly, a loud crash of thunder roared across the sky, causing the teens to be silenced quickly. Looking up at the sky, they saw that large black clouds had begun to roll in. The wind started to howl as they continued to stare at the sky. 

"We should go." Ryo told Kento and Sai who both agreed. Looking over at Rowen and Sage, Ryo called over to them, "Hey Dumb and Dumber! The heavens could open at any moment! We're leaving. Come on!"

**********************

Grabbing their stuff quickly, the Ronins ran up to their car and loaded their stuff quickly into the trunk. Then, after making a quick stop at the surf shop to return the boards, Ryo and the rest of the group drove as quickly as possible back to the house. 

*********************

The rains came as soon as the garage door shut behind the car. "That was a close call." Kento said as he helped Sai take his surfboard from the trunk. "We almost got stuck in the rain."

"Although it really won't have much mattered considering we are already soaking wet." Sage told as he walked into the house. 

Placing his board against the cement wall of the garage, Sai jumped at the sound of the thunder outside. "Boy, this was certainly a surprise. The forecast said that is was suppost to be clear the whole week." He told the others. 

Placing his hands behind his head, Kento shrugged. "This just proves that you can't trust weather men or women." The ash-haired teen started. As he went back into the house with Rowen close behind, he added,  "Whatever they say, the opposite always happens."

Ryo shook his head and smiled as he watched the hardheaded warrior enter the kitchen. Then, turning back to Sai, he cleared his throat. "Hey Sai, can I ask you something?" 

"Sure, what is it?" The brown haired boy asked a grin on his face. 

Walking up to the garage door opener, Ryo pushed it opened. The rain flooded into where the two boys were standing. The entire sky had been completely covered in dark clouds, creating a nighttime feel to so early in the morning. "Sai, are you afraid of something? Something that is happening out there, right now?" He asked, pointing down towards the stormy beach. 

Gulping a bit, Sai simply shook his head. "No, why would you ask such a thing like that?" 

"Because, you seem high strung about something. Like you're scared of the water or something." He said innocently. 

Sai felt anger run through his body. It began to course through his blood and then into his hands, causing them to form fists of rage. "Are you saying that I'm afraid of my own element?" He questioned to his leader, the angry beginning to swell into his voice. 

"No, I didn't mean it like that. I just meant that---" 

"That you think I'm unable to handle unsteady water? That I'm afraid of storms?" He asked, his voice growing in volume. "Well, guess what Ryo? Perhaps, for once in your life, you don't know anything."

Taken aback by Sai's harsh words, Ryo felt his blood begin to boil as well."Look, all I asked was a simple question. You don't need to bite my head off." He yelled back. 

Storming past him, Sai marched over to the door. "Well, guess what? I did. And I don't want you to come near me until the end of this trip!" He shouted. 

"Fine!" Ryo yelled back. 

"Fine!" And with that, Sai sprinted past the others at the kitchen table and up to his room, slamming it shut behind him.

Ryo walked into the kitchen and slammed that door shut behind him. Kento, Rowen, and Sage stared at their angered leader and then at the steps that lead upstairs. "Um, what just happened?"

Walking past the small questionable group, Ryo murmured, "Nothing." 

*********************

~ Gasp! That plot thickens. Please read and review! ~


	4. Mistakes and Memories

Storms of the Past

Chapter Three

Mistakes and Memories 

_By: Lady Ava_

_Disclaimer: Once more. I don't own the Ronin Warriors_

The rain began to pound harder and harder outside the mansion the next day as the Ronin sat around, doing nothing. Rowen was curled up on the sofa, reading Harry Potter. Sage and Kento sat in front of the television, trying to beat the crap out of each other in Mortal Combat. Ryo was sitting on the staircase, sketching away in his journal. 

Sai sat in the kitchen, running his finger around the rim of his coffee mug. He and Ryo weren't on speaking terms ever since yesterday's incident in the garage. It killed him. Ryo was one of his best friends and he wasn't talking to him. Glancing out of the window in the kitchen, a huge bolt of lighting streaked across the sky, lighting the whole house with its yellow light. 'He's right. Maybe I am scared of the stormy sea. After all, that's how my dad died. Dragged under by the undertow.' He thought, shivering at the thought. 

Standing from his chair, the youth walked out of the kitchen and through the living room. Stopping at the base of the stairs, Sai glanced up at Ryo. He was deep in his work and didn't really notice him standing there. Either that, or he chose not to notice him. Walking up so that he was a step below his leader, Sai sat on the same step as his friend. They sat there in silence; the only noise was Ryo's pencil scratching away on the paper of his sketchpad. Finally, he stopped and looked down at the drawing. Placing the book into his lap, Ryo looked straight ahead of him. "Sai, I'm sorry. I shouldn't of asked such a question." He finally said. 

"It's okay Ryo. It is as much my fault. I shouldn't have yelled like that. It wasn't my normal behavior." Sai quickly added. 

Holding up his hand towards Sai, Ryo smiled at his trustful friend. "Friends?" 

Slapping his hand into the virtuous leader's hand, Sai smiled. "Friends." 

Suddenly, Kento ran out of the kitchen and into the family room. "Guys, we're out of food! There is nothing in this entire house!" 

"Kento, are you sure?" Ryo asked calmly as he and Sai descended the stairs. 

"I won't lye about this Ryo. You know me." Kento said instantly. 

Standing from the couch and placing his book onto the table, Rowen laughed a bit. "He's right about that. He wouldn't lye about food." 

Sage stood from the floor and turned the television off. "Well then, someone has to go and get more supplies. Any volunteers?" 

Raising his hand into the air, Sai smiled. "I'll do it. I've got nothing better to do." 

"Do you want me to go with you?" Kento asked. 

"No Kento. No offence, but shopping with you is like shopping with a four-year-old. You always grab the most junk-filled snacks to buy and I always end up having to put them back." Sai laughed as he headed for the garage door. 

Sulking, Kento leaned up against the counter. "Whatever." He mumbled. 

Placing his blue sweatshirt on over his short-sleeved school shirt, Sai grabbed the keys. "I won't be long." 

Closing the door behind him, Sai pushed the electric garage door opener on, causing the door to lift up. Walking around towards the driver's side, Sai began to fiddle with the car keys. Looking up as he found the right one, Sai saw his surfboard leaning there against the wall. He didn't know why, but it just seemed to shout out, 'Take me with you.' 

Walking over, Sai grabbed his board and threw it into the trunk. Then, hopping into the driver's seat, he backed the car out of the garage and was gone. 

******************

Finishing loading his bags filled with food and other things into his car, Sai slammed down the trunk door. Glancing out at the sea, the teen felt his muscles tense. The scene before him was like the day that his father had died. The stormy ocean was churning out monstrous waves that crashed harshly onto the shore. Suddenly, the familiar urge came over Sai. Opening the door to the back of the jeep, the teen withdrew his surfboard. Then, removing both of his shirts and sandals, the youth ran through the rain and down onto the beach. 

**********************

Kento paced back and forth in the kitchen uneasily. Sai had been gone for almost two hours and the drive down to town was only fifteen minutes in both ways. The Hard Rock warrior kept glancing up at the clock and then out the window. The weather had worsened a ten fold since Sai had left. 

Rowen and Sage followed the youth back and forth while they tried to play cards. "Kento, you are going to ware a hole in the floor if you don't sit down and relax." Rowen told him as he took three cards from the deck. 

"I can't relax. Sai's been gone for over two hours. What could be taking him so long?" Kento stated as he leaned up against the table. 

Ryo walked into the kitchen from the garage and shut the door behind him. As he walked in, a roll of thunder and a burst of lighting created for a more dramatic entrance. "Sai's surfboard is gone. He must have taken it with him." He told the others.

Folding against Rowen, who happily took his money from the center of the table, Sage stood. "Why take his surf…oh no. He won't. He's too smart to try to surf those waves alone."

"Maybe…I don't know." Ryo said quietly as another crash of thunder rolled overhead. 

**********************

Sai dragged himself out of the stormy sea and threw himself onto his back on the beach. He was panted and his bare sides were heaving in and out. His board was still out there in the rough seas, but Sai was too exhausted to go back in to fish it out. Besides, he was in too much pain to even think about going back in the water. Looking down at his stomach, Sai saw that he wasn't just wet with water. There was a huge gash in his side that was caused when he hit the rocks that were submerged before. The salt water stung as it flowed into the bloody cut. It looked deep, probably needed at least five stitches. But he would ask Sage to look at it when he got back. 

His arm wasn't much better. There was a huge scrap on where his arm bent that could probably use two stitches itself. Examining himself over and then the damage that he managed to do to himself, Sai cursed under his breath. Climbing to his feet, Sai staggered up the steps that lead up to the road. 

*******************

The rain was coming down in sheets as the teen arrived back at his car. Opening the front passenger's door, he withdrew his short sleeve school shirt. Placing a piece of the bottom in his mouth, Sai ripped the shirt down the middle. He repeated the process until he had enough cloth to create temporary bandages that he could use until he got back to the beach house. Carefully wrapping his arm and waist, Sai would occasionally gasp in a sudden shock of pain. Then, he pulled his sweatshirt over so that he could conceal his injuries from his friends. 

As he closed the passenger's door, a familiar grip came down onto his shoulder. Turning around he saw lean staring at him, concern written clearly on his soaked face. "Len? What are you doing here?" Sai asked, cringing a bit in the pain. 

"I was here buying some food and supplies." He said calmly as the wind began to howl over the ocean. Staring at the teen, Len's expression quickly changed to angry. "Why were you out there?"

Sai glanced down at his feet as he let the rain soak through his sweatshirt. "I…I never surfed in a storm like this and I wanted to try it." He stated lying.

Bending down so that he was eye level with Sai, Len stared into the teen's brown eyes. "You and your father are exactly the same. You can't tell a lye for your life." 

Turning away from the teen, Len looked over towards a woman standing in the doorway of the store. She had light brown hair and beautiful blue eyes. In his arms, she held a little toddler girl, who was clinging onto her mother tightly. "What's the matter, Len?" She called over through the roar of the wind and the crashing waves. 

"This is the boy I was telling you about. Mouri's kid. I'm going to drive him back to his place. Follow behind us so that we can just drive back to the hotel." The friend of Sai's father shouted. Then, taking the keys from his pocket, he threw them over to his wife. After the woman agreed and vanished, Len then looked at Sai. "Come on. Give up your keys, Sai. You are in no condition to drive."

Sliding out from in front of the man, the torrent warrior started around to the driver's side of the car. Withdrawing his the keys from his sweatshirt's front pocket, Sai gave a weak smile back to him. "I'm fine Len. I can…drive…myself…" 

Feeling his feet fall out from underneath him, Sai began to head for the ground when he felt Len's arms wrap around his waist. Sai yelped in the sudden shock of pain that ran through his sides. "Just as I thought. Come on. Up front in the passenger's seat. No arguments." The man told as he helped Sai back over and into the jeep. Then, taking the keys from him, Len ran around to the other side and hopped into the car. As he placed the keys into the ignition, the man asked, "Where is your beach house?"

"Just follow the road straight up to the top of the cliff. That's where it is." Sai murmured. 

***********************

Vision on the road was next to impossible. The rain was coming down at an angle and it was in sheets. So, very three minutes, Len would have to pull over until the storm decided to become better. The two people didn't really speak for the first few minutes. Sai was still a little agitated that Len won't let him drive home himself. 

On their third time pulling over, Len turned the engine off and quietly leaned back into the chair. "Sai," he finally started, causing the teen to look up at him in question. "Why did you actually go out there? You know perfectly well that you're not suppost to go out surfing by yourself and certainly not during a tropical storm warning."

Glancing out the water-covered windshield, Sai shivered a bit from his damp clothes. "I never understood how my father could of drowned that day. Why didn't he manage to get out of the undertow fast enough in order to get air?" Reaching up, Sai grasped his necklace in his fist. "He was a strong swimmer, he should have been able to swim out of it. So, why didn't he?" 

"I know your father must of tried Sai. He didn't want to die that day. You and I both know that. But, what happened…happened. There was nothing we could of done about it." Len told him softly. 

Yanking his necklace off from around his neck, Sai turned quickly and faced the man. "If he hadn't given me this than he won't have died. It was his good luck charm. But he told me to wear it instead." He yelled. Suddenly, another rush of pain coursed up and down the youth's side, causing him to groan in pain.

Falling forward, Len caught Sai by his shoulders. "Hey, are you alright?" The man asked quickly as he sat the youth up in his chair. 

Grabbing his side, Sai panted heavily. "I'm okay."

"There you go again with the bad lying." Len joked. Leaning over to Sai placed a hand on the teen's shoulder. "What did you scrap up?" 

"My side and my arm. They aren't too bad." He said. Len raised an angry eyebrow at Sai, causing the teen to glance down at the floor. "Okay, I might need stitches. But my friend Sage can do it. He is starting to train to be a doctor." 

"I think I should take you to the hospital. If the cut is that bad, there is no sense in making it worse." 

"I told you I'm fine." Sai growled. Suddenly, he realized what he had just done. He had yelled at one of his oldest family's friends. Quickly looking down at the floor, Sai became calm again. "I'm sorry."

Len placed a hand onto the teen's shoulder. "Hey, it's alright. I know that you're upset." Glancing away from Sai himself, the man mumbled. "I miss him too." 

Dropping the necklace onto the floor, Sai felt his eyes begin to water. The hot tears started to roll down his already wet face and he began to sob. Whenever he heaved his breath in and out, more and more pain ran through him. "He shouldn't have died." He murmured. 

"I know Sai. I know." Len said softly. Looking back over at him, the man saw the necklace sitting on the floor. Reaching over, he picked it up into his hand. "You're father told me, 'the first day that I teach my son to surf, I'm going to give this to him.' That man always kept his promises." 

Looking up at Len, Sai wiped his tears from his reddened eyes. "He said that?"

"Yup. And meant every word of it." He said as he placed the necklace back around Sai throat.

As the rain began to lighten, Len turned the car back on. "Are we almost there?" 

"Yea, not too much farther now." Sai mumbled sitting back in his seat. He had just told the biggest lye to his father's friend's face and he didn't see through it. Sage was a healer but wasn't training to be a doctor. But, as long as it got him back to the house, Sai couldn't have cared less.  

******************

Pulling into the driveway, Sai and Len switched places. The youth tried to convince the man that he could manage the rest of the way. Then, after some heavy persuasion, the older of the two finally caved and left. 

*******************

It was around six o'clock when the others heard the garage door open. "Finally." Ryo said as he and the other Ronin headed out into the garage to help Sai with the bags. As they opened the door, the saw that Sai was still sitting in the car, his head resting on the steering wheel. That's when Ryo felt something flow over him. Something was definitely wrong. 

Quickening his pace a bit, the leader of the Ronin Warriors walked up to the door and opened it. "Sai? Are you okay?" Ryo asked, sounding very concerned. 

Lifting his head up, Sai looked at his friends who were standing there, worried half to death. "I'm fine. Just glad to have made it back before it decided to get worse." He told the others, a small grin on his face. 

Opening the trunk of the car, Sage and Kento began to empty the car of all the bags. Sai had managed to buy all the things that were needed in case the storm decided to worsen. He bought five flashlights and a ten pack of D batteries, just in case the lights decided to go. There was also a first aid kit and hammers and nails. 

"What's with all the hard wear, Sai?" Rowen asked as he began to unpack it along with the food on the counter. 

Walking in wearily, Sai sat slowly in the kitchen chair. "The hammers and nails are to board up the windows. If there is a sudden strong gust of wind, it could blow out all the windows." He stated slowly. 

Sitting down next to his friend, Kento stared angrily at him. "Why did it take you so long Sai? The town isn't even a fifteen minute drive from here." 

"I had to stop and start the car every couple of minutes because of the rain. I could barley see out the windshield." Sai lied. It killed him to lye like that, but it had to be done. He knew that he couldn't tell them that he had been out surfing. 

Placing a hand onto his friend's shoulder, Sage squeezed Sai's sweatshirt lightly. "Sai, you're soaked to the bone."

Realizing that his clothes probably absorbed whatever water was left on his body, Sai gulped. "I had to walk out into the ran because I accidentally dropped my keys." He quickly stated. Standing from the table, his vision blurred a bit. "I'll go change." He murmured. 

"We'll empty out the bags and then we'll board up the windows." Rowen told the rest of the group, who agreed by nodding. 

********************

Not knowing how he did it, Sai managed to make his way up to his bedroom. Walking over to his suitcase, Sai withdrew his most comfortable clothes that he could find: a pair of blue flannel pants and his swim team shirt. Then, staggering into the bathroom, he shut the door quietly. After rummaging through at least three cabinets, he finally found the medical kit.       

Finding the medical supplies that he needed, Sai removed his shirt. The temporary bandages that he had made weren't living up to his expectations. His blood had already soaked right through as was already starting on his sweatshirt. Removing the make shift compress, Sai almost wanted to throw up at the sight. The flesh around the wound had begun to turn a purple color from loosing blood and from being bruised. The same thing went from his arm. 

Murmuring curses under his breath, Sai carefully cleaned out the wounds and then wrapped his arm and stomach. Then, after cleaning the bathroom up so that no blood could stain the white tile floor, Sai deposited the old shirt into the garbage and left, hoping that the others wouldn't see how much pain he was really in. 

***********************

Upon entering the family room, Sai saw that Ryo and Sage had already started boarding the windows up. Kento was working on the dinning room, while Rowen was hammering away in the kitchen. As he sat down on the couch, Sage turned back to him. "Hey Sai. We decided to sleep in the movie room tonight, just in case. So, could you get some blankets and pillows from the hall closet and from our rooms?" 

Nodding, Sai instantly stood back up on his feet and left to head back upstairs. He seemed to have become more sluggish than before he left to go to the town and Sage noticed this. "Hey Ryo, is it just me, or does Sai seem a bit slower and less peppy than usual?" 

"It's not just you. Sai's slowed down a bit. But I don't know why." Ryo told him flatly.

*******************************

~ It's so close to the end you can almost taste it. Please read and review! ~ 


	5. All Revealed

Storms of the Past

By Lady Ava

Disclaimer: I do not own the Ronin Warriors. 

**Author's Notes**: *GASP* This fanfiction's last part has finally been posted?! *falls over* Amazing! Okay, this is it everyone! The last part of this fanfiction. I hope you enjoyed reading it and I'm sorry for keeping you waiting for so long ^ ^() 

ENJOY! 

Chapter 5 

All Revealed 

Later that night, the five Ronin sat down in the movie room. Mia had figured that sooner or later the guys would want to visit the beach house. So, she had the carpenters build a movie theater on the first floor so that they could watch all their shooting and horror movies in there, leaving her the upstairs theater. There were soft rugs on the floor that were nice to sleep on, so it wouldn't be that bad. Kento and Sai sat against the wall where the screen would usually be while Ryo and Rowen argued over which movie they should watch, "_Scream"_ or "_I Still Know What You Did Last Summer"_. Sage sat against the wall, but was in a deep meditation. 

Kento learned never to interfere when Ryo and Rowen were arguing over movies. The last time he tried to offer a helping hand, he ended up with a foot in the stomach and a black eye. So, he remained quiet was he watched the two Ronin duke it out. 

Sai was leaning quietly against the wall in his sleeping attire. He felt so tired as he listened to his mini radio headphones. As he began to feel his eye lids dip a bit, a woman reporter interrupted Sai's music. "Attention any Japan shore residents. A sever tropical storm warning has been placed into affect as of now until tomorrow morning. This storm should bring heavy downpours; along with sever lighting and winds. Please stay indoors and do not attempt to drive. Now we return you to your local stations programming."

"We have a tropical storm warning." Sai murmured softly, causing Kento to look over at him. "We are due to have sever winds, lighting, and downpours. This has been put into effect until tomorrow morning." 

Suddenly, the lights in the basement began to flicker. "This is going to be the worst part of the entire storm." Rowen stated as he looked up at the lights. That's when they were pulled into darkness. The five teens waited in silence and then turned on their flashlights. 

Ryo and Rowen figured that there was no point in continuing their fighting, since they had lost power and couldn't watch a movie, so they sat down on their makeshift beds. The wind howled outside the house as the youths sat there, talking and laughing loudly. 

Sai rested his head against the wall and touched his side lightly. The wounds were still bleeding a lot, so that was probably the reason why he felt like passing out. The dimly lit room was spinning wildly as he sat there next to Kento and Sage. "I'm going to get a drink from the bar." He told the others as he started to stand. Pushing off of the wall, Sai turned his flashlight onto its maximum level. As he staggered forward, Sai felt like he was a ship during the middle of a storm. The floor moved beneath him and then suddenly came up and met his face hard. 

"Sai? What happened?" He heard Ryo ask. 

Pushing himself up, Sai got back to his feet and started back to where the others were sitting. "I tripped over my own two feet. That's all." He mumbled softly as he sat back down against the wall. 

Rowen stared over at his friend. "I thought you were thirsty." 

Resting his head against Kento's shoulder, Sai grasped his side again. The bleeding was moving a bit faster than before. "I changed my mind." He slurred. 

Kento glanced over at the youth that was resting on his shoulder. "Sai, are you feeling alright? You look pale." Touching his friend's hand lightly, he rubbed his fingertips together. "And you're all clammy." 

"'m okay. Just really tired. And a bit dizzy and lightheaded." Sai whispered. 

"Sai, how long have you been feeling like this?" Rowen asked, touching his friend's forehead. 

Adjusting in his place on the floor, Sai leaned a bit closer to Kento, trying to get Rowen to stop feeling his forehead. "Since…got back…" He murmured, starting to skip words all together. 

*****************************

"Hey Sage." 

Sage's eyes flew opened at the sound of Ryo's voice. The way he had said it just told him that something was wrong. "Yeah?" 

"Sai isn't looking too good." Rowen told him. 

Grabbing his flashlight, Sage slid over so that he could look at the teen. Shinning his light up, he saw that Sai was indeed paler than his usual tan self. Sweat was sliding down the sides of his face and his hair was stuck to his face. Scanning downwards, Sage saw the Sai was holding onto his side that was slowly becoming stained in blood. "Sai, can you take off your shirt?" He finally asked. 

Sitting up a bit, Sai used his good arm to lift his shirt off. The others gasped when they saw the blood soaked gauze wrapped around the Australian's mid-drift and arm. "Sai, what happened?" Kento asked as he saw the bandages. 

"I didn't tell you the truth about when I out to get the food." Sai told the others tiredly. "I went surfing and got thrown onto the rocks. I don't know why I did it." 

"Sai, you could of gotten yourself killed." Rowen scolded as Sage reached behind him to grab the medical kit.

Letting his head drop a bit, Sai felt himself begin to loose awareness of his surroundings. "I guess I wanted to know how it was to surf the waves in a storm." He babbled out. 

"Kento, can you lay him out flat and rest his head on your lap?" Sage asked. 

"Sure. No prob." The ash haired teen told. Moving Sai off of him a bit, Kento carefully turned the teen and laid him down onto the comfortable floor and rested his head into his lap. 

Kneeling down next to his semi-unconscious friend, Sage began to remove the bandages from around Sai's waist. As the gash came into view, Sai heard the other Ronin gag at the sight. "My god Sai. Why would you do this to yourself?" Sage asked as he placed his hands onto the cut. 

As he felt a warm feeling wash over him, Sai relaxed a bit. "Because… I don't know where the baseball is Kento."

"Sai? I didn't ask about any—" Kento started.

Staring up at his friends, the others saw that Sai's eyes were feverish. "I need to go and cook dinner…" He slurred out as he fell unconscious on the floor. 

"His fever is causing the sweating and disoriented babbling. I managed to patch the wound, but it should leave a scar. If he had come to me sooner, then I would have been able to prevent it." Sage told the others. 

"Why is his skin purple?" Rowen asked.

Sage was still rubbing his hands onto the Ronin's side as he finished closing the wound. "Loss of blood. He lost a lot of it. But with a few days of bed rest, he should be just fine and walking around." 

Covering Sai with one of the blankets, Kento smiled down at his friend and then at the others. "Let's get some sleep. We'll go upstairs and survey the damage tomorrow morning." 

Agreeing, the Ronin went over to the claimed sleeping spots and instantly fell asleep. But outside, the starry sky began to appear through the clouds. 

The worst was over. 

****************************

Sai awoke to find himself in his bedroom. He was covered with his soft sheets and comforters as he slept soundly. Looking outside, he saw that the sun was shinning brightly outside. There wasn't a cloud in the sky and the ocean waves were calm. "What? What happened?" 

"Ah, so you finally decided to join the world of the living." A voice stated from the door. Glancing over, Sai saw Ryo standing there holding a tray of food. "Nice to have you back with us, Sai."

Sitting up slowly, Sai felt his side and arm. They felt pretty much normal. As Ryo walked over to his bedside, Sai rolled his shoulder. "Ryo? What happened? How did I get upstairs? What happened to the storm?"

Laughing a bit, Ryo sat down on the edge of his friend's bed. "You've been asleep for the past two days. The storm passed over us without doing too much damage. The guys are outside right now replacing the broken windows. We were all really worried about you." He told as he opened up a covered bowl of soup. 

"Why was I asleep for so long?" Sai questioned. 

Blowing on the soup a bit, Ryo handed it to Sai. "Loss of blood from your cuts. Your body needed to replace the blood cells you lost, so you slept in order to do that." 

Looking down at the soup and then at Ryo, Sai smirked. "Wow Ryo. You actually sound like you know what you're talking about."

"I listened to Sage while he babbled on and on about all his medical stuff…for a change." He smirked happily.

Sipping the soup lightly, Sai smiled. "But, I don't remember a lot from two days ago. What happened?" 

Adjusting himself into a more comfortable position on Sai's bed, Ryo gave a weak smile. "You were down in the basement and started to babble random things to us. Then after Sage started to heal you, you passed out after saying that you had to make dinner." 

Both teens chuckled a bit at what Sai had said. "I guess I had food on the brain. I'm starving." He said as he happily slurped the soup. 

"Hey! Morning Sleeping Beauty!" A voice called from the door. Glancing up, Sai and Ryo saw the other guys standing in the doorway holding large windows in their hands. 

Smiling, Sai placed the empty bowl onto the end table. "Hey guys. Sorry that I've been such a bother to you over the past couple of days." He apologized. 

Placing the glass down against the wall, Rowen, Sage, and Kento walked over to where their friend sat. "Dude, don't say you're sorry. There is no point. You didn't do anything wrong." Rowen told the teen with a grin. 

Averting his gaze to his hands that sat in his lap, Sai felt his spirits drop about sixty notches. Sliding his covers off, Sai swung his leg around to the other side of his bed so that his back was to his friends. Then, he pushed himself up so he was standing unsteadily on his feet. "Yeah I did. I did everything wrong." 

"Sai, you should really get back into bed. You still aren't strong enough to be up and walking around." Sage advised, moving around towards his friend.

"I'm fine. See?" He said sharply as he started to walk forward a bit. Sai was moving along alright, but then his legs gave out from underneath him and threw him to his knees. "Damnit." He murmured. 

Feeling Kento place his hands onto his back, Sai wanted to pull away but just couldn't. He let the ash haired boy help him to his feet and place him back onto his bed. As the came in contact with his sheets, Sai felt tears in his eyes. They swelled in his eyes as he kept his gaze to the floor. Sai then began to sob softly, causing the others to stare at each other. 

"Sai? What's wrong?" He heard Ryo's voice ask. 

Running his hand over his face, the teen looked up at his friends. He thought that it was time to tell the others about his father. He couldn't keep it inside any longer. "Ryo, remember when you asked me if I was afraid of something and I yelled at you?"

Sliding over to his friend, Ryo nodded. "Yeah, I remember. Why?"

"The truth is…I was scared. I'm afraid of storms near the ocean. I get scared out of my mind when I'm near them." He murmured. 

"But why? I thought you loved the water, no matter what it was like." Kento asked.

Feeling more hot tears come from his eyes, Sai looked straight out the balcony doors and down into the ocean below. "It happened when I was ten. My father was in the National Surfing Composition the beach near my house. I never thought that the day he was going for his twentieth surfing title would be his last." As he paused to regain his composure, he saw Rowen and Sage sit on the floor by his feet. They wanted to listen to what he had to say. "My dad was a champion surfer. He loved everything about the sport, so he taught my mom, sister, and me how to surf. He was just there to have fun that day. It was suppost to be a really bad stormy day. But that made the wave twice as high and twice as hard. He always loved the challenge. Then, he went out there and drowned. Went down right in he surf." 

Sai began to break down again. He tried to muffle his sobs, but it was to no effect. Kento place a hand on his friend's shoulder. "Sai, we had no idea." He murmured softly. 

Wiping his eyes, the young torrent warrior sat up straight. "I never wanted to say anything. It was just too horrible. The medics managed to get his body out of the water, but it was too late. He was already gone," and then, the tears flowed faster. Sai dropped his head, shielding his face from his friends.

The room fell silent as the sounds of the waves crashing from outside echoed about the room. It almost seemed as if Sai's element was trying to drown out the sobs that its master breathed. The others didn't know how to react to such words. He had spoken them all too fast that it was still sinking in slowly. None knew how to react to it…no one, except Ryo. 

Gently, the black haired boy reached over and brushed away the brown locks from face. The redden eyes and flustered cheeks of the teen became visible. Ryo kept his hand upon Sai's head, almost as if trying to offer some kind of silent comfort. 

'I know how you feel Sai…' Ryo's voice echoed within his head. Sai looked up quickly to meet a slightly smiling face from the leader. 'I know what its like to loose a parent. But you don't have to worry Sai…we're here for you now…' As the boy studied Ryo's face more, he let his eyes widen in shock. For there, within the tiger blue eyes of his friend, lay a few glittering tears. 

"Ryo…" Sai started, reaching up to grab his friend's hand, but the boy moved away from him and stood abruptly. 

The others stared at Ryo and then at Sai. "Are you as lost as I am?" Kento muttered to Rowen. 

"I'll never be as lost as you Kento," he muttered back quietly, "But I am very confused."

Clearing his throat, letting a sniffle escape his nose, Ryo turned to the others, "Ok! Everyone back to work! We need to get this place back to the way it looked before the storm hit!" he said, in his normal leader-like fashion. "Besides, we gotta let Sai rest and get his energy back." And with that, he headed for the door. 

Kento, Rowen and Sage watched Ryo exit the room quietly and quickly. Once he had shut the door behind him, they turned to face Sai. The teen sat quietly in his bed, his eyes still fixed on the door. 

"Ryo…" he muttered under his breath.

**********************

Within a few hours, Sai managed to bring himself out of bed. He showered and found the last pair of clean clothes in his suitcase to wear for the trip back to Mia's. Though not the most fashionable outfit (an old long sleeved tee and a pair of Adieas pants), it was comfortable. Pulling his hair back into a small ponytail, the youth went downstairs. The place was cleaned up and some of the others had put their belongings by the door already to be placed into the car. 

'Some relaxing weekend this turned out to be,' he thought as he headed for the kitchen. 'A fight with Ryo…major injuries to myself…and almost getting myself killed.'

Moving to grab his shoes from where he had left them two nights ago, Sai glanced out the window. The rock cliffs and the sea were laid out in the landscape so perfectly, he almost thought it to be fake. Of course, the thought would have escaped him, if it hadn't been for a figure of a familiar person standing at the edge of the cliff. 

Sai straightened up slightly as he watched the figure stand alone, 'Ryo?'

**********************

The wind was heavy at the cliff's edge, of it came strongly off the ocean to where it met the land. Ryo stood sternly, his arms crossed over his chest. His eyes slightly shut, they stayed focused on the water below him. The wind played with his black hair, pushing it about and into his face. 

'Afraid of the ocean….because his father died…' Ryo thought, his brow becoming furrowed with question. 'I can understand the fear…but they didn't have to know.' 

Suddenly, the sound of footsteps on the hard earth made his ears perk. Turning about, Ryo was met with Sai's eyes staring right though him. The two teens stood opposite of each other in silence, letting the sounds of the waves and the howl of the wind speak for them. 

"I see you're up and about," Ryo said, smiling slightly. 

Sai nodded, "Yeah. Couldn't stay in bed any longer."

Silence came between them once again. Sai moved towards the edge until he stood completely next to Ryo. He felt the Wildfire warrior staring at him as he looked out over the ocean. 

Closing his eyes, he smiled, "This is more like it," he muttered quietly.

Ryo raised an eyebrow, "What do you mean?"

"The ocean…it's calm." Sai murmured quietly. 

Smiling as well, Ryo nodded and looked out as well. "Yeah. Its very beautiful when its calm." 

"Ryo…I know that you feel my pain over my father…" Sai continued on, his tone still soft. The black haired boy kept his eyes out to the sea, nodding slightly to the statement, "Your father died by an act of nature as well…didn't he?" 

Lowering his head, Ryo sighed, "It doesn't matter how he died Sai. All I can say is that I know the feeling of loosing someone close to you…like a father." He turned and started away back towards the house. "Come on. We better get heading back."

Turning as well, Sai watched the leader head back, "Ryo!" he called, causing the teen to halt in his steps, "…thank you." 

Glancing over his shoulder, Ryo raised an eyebrow, "For what?" 

Smiling a broad grin, Sai started towards him, "For taking care of me. For letting me know that I'm not alone in having such feelings." 

A smirk came to Ryo's mouth, "I don't like seeing one of my best friends hurt. It's the least I could do for you." 

Coming to a stop in front of him, Sai held out his hand to him, making Ryo's eyes widen. "What you told me upstairs…though thoughts…that stays between us….agreed?" 

Nodding, Ryo firmly grasped Sai's hand, "Agreed." 

And with that, the two of boys headed back towards the house. But as they walked, Sai turned and glanced over his shoulder and out at the waves of the ocean. As the breeze kissed his face, he placed a hand onto his father's necklace. 

'Take care dad…I'll come back and visit you…I promise…' he thought as he heard the waves crash onto the rocks.

*********************

The End.

Author's Notes: Well, that's it for now. ^_^  I hope you all enjoyed the story. 

Read and Review!


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